Shadows over Stadium of Light

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If there can be such a thing as heroic naivety then Margaret Byrne, chief executive of Sunderland Football Club, is the Heracles of innocence. When David Miliband resigned as non-executive vice-chairman of Sunderland after the appointment of the self-acknowledged fascist Paolo Di Canio as manager, Ms Byrne complained that “some people are trying to turn the appointment of a new head coach into a political circus”. In this era of careful brand management, Ms Byrne’s words seem almost other-worldly.

Had she and her colleagues sought advice in advance, she might have been reminded that football, with its tribal passions and